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Gareth Bale set for Real Madrid fine after arriving late for Champions League tie vs Club Brugge

AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

Real Madrid coach Zinediine Zidane says he will speak to Gareth Bale as he confirmed the Welsh winger arrived late for Tuesday night's Champions League clash at home to Club Brugge.

Bale was rested for the Group A game, which ended in a 2-2 draw, but was still expected at the Santiago Bernabeu before the game. However, television cameras showed the 30-year-old arriving four minutes after the match had started.

According to Deportes Cuatro, club rules mean the winger will be fined anywhere between €250 and €3,000 for his indiscipline.

"That's something that stays inside," Zidane said at a press conference on Friday when asked about the matter.

"You have had information you shouldn't have. I have to speak to him, but I don't need to tell that to you. I speak to the player, but you shouldn't have that information."

Bale is set to return in Saturday's game at home to Granada after Zidane revealed on Tuesday that he had been rested due to a knock.

But the Frenchman dismissed the idea of using the former Tottenham player at left-back - the position where he began his career - in the absence of both Marcelo and Ferland Mendy through injury.

"The truth is I haven't thought of that," he said. "No, no. We have other possibilities before that."

Zidane also faced a numerous questions about Thibaut Courtois after the Belgian goalkeeper went off with stomach problems at half-time on Tuesday, having been booed by the fans.

Madrid were later forced to release a statement on Friday to deny a report than he had been diagnosed with anxiety.

"Unfair or not, it is what it is," Zidane said when asked about the whistles. When it was put to him that he had said a few months ago that there would be no debate about the goalkeeping position, he said: "There's always a debate here, you know that..."

Real Madrid denied Courtois was replaced due to an anxiety diagnosis. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
Real Madrid denied Courtois was replaced due to an anxiety diagnosis. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

When he was questioned as to whether Courtois is the undisputed starter, he said: "Nobody is undisputed here. Not Courtois, not anyone.

"We are 25 [players], I always say the same. And I count on them all. I say with a smile because it's true. You want to get things out of me that I don't want to say."

Asked whether he believed it was unfair that Courtois had been blamed for the team's poor opening 45 minutes against Club Brugge, the French coach said: "It's true that he's not the [person] most responsible for what happened in the first half. He's the goalkeeper, but he's not the only one responsible."

And asked to define Alphonse Areola, who has done well in his two appearances so far and is seen as a better option by many, the Real coach said: "He's a great goalkeeper, like Courtois. We have two good goalkeepers who play and that's that."

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